Dave has been making use of his electric guitar a lot lately in our worship services on Sundays. I'm really proud of him because he's doing an amazing job learning the songs and making them sound really good and also doing it in a worshipful way. With him practicing so much at home and listening to the songs in the car when we drive, Micah has learned all the songs as well. It's adorable how he loves to sing all these worship songs. He has his own name for each of them . His favorites are: "Then Sings My Soul" (How Great Thou Art by Paul Baloche), "Hojanna" (Hosanna by Hillsong), "Halleluia" (Holy is our God by Starfield), "Oh Praise the One Who" (Jesus Paid it All by Kristian Stanfill), and "At the Cross" (Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle).
I've also been listening to a CD in my car with hymns that have been redone and Micah loves some of the songs. It took me little while to figure out which ones he was meaning. He especially loves "Hoorise" (Arise my soul arise). The other one that I just figured out yesterday was "That thumb my got chew" which is .... can you guess? No? And Can It Be! Of course! You know the line that says "That Thou my God shoulds't die for me"? He took the first 5 words of that line and that's what he calls the song.
He loves to read his Toddler Bible at night and always asks to read the "Light" (In the beginning), the story of the Rainbow (Noah and the Flood) and then the "Owwies" which is Moses and the Plagues. Also, his prayers at night are SO cute. Dave is usually the one to put Micah to bed and he's been telling me everything Micah is thankful for, but I've gotten to experience it first hand lately because Dave's been out a couple nights in a row. Micah is still always first and foremost thankful for his 2 best buddies Ty Ty and Brady, but then he goes into being thankful for Mario kitty cat, grandma and grandpa, mommy and daddy, Daddy's computer, Mommy's computer, the TV Remote and the TV, the headboard for his bed, etc, etc. I wish I could remember everything, but at least there's a few.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Grocery Game
One of my friends talked me into trying out "The Grocery Game". I was a little reluctant at first because 1. You have to clip coupons; 2. You have to pay attention to prices; and 3. To have it work the best for me I'd probably have to switch grocery stores. I hate switching stores. I have 2 stores that I most often buy my groceries from and I am used to them, I know where to find things, and I mostly like the selections they have. Albertsons is the store I should switch to because they have the best coupon policy - they accept coupons from every other store as well as their own. It's right next to the other store I normally shop at, so it's not out of my way, but I don't like the store as well.
Anyway, the idea behind The Grocery Game is that it combines sales/club member prices at your local grocery store with manufacturers coupons that you get in the Sunday paper in order to get the best use of the coupon and the biggest amount of savings. It works best if you can spend a lot at first to stock up on everything. I haven't completely stock-piled everything, but for the first three weeks of using the grocery game I have saved a ton of money!
The first time I went grocery shopping I saved $33 on my $101 bill - So I only spent $68! Another bill came to $140 before all the sales and coupons, and I ended up saving about $65. Just yesterday when I went shopping I saved $88 on about $200, so I spent $114. I think I'll keep using it. I just don't want to get sucked in to using coupons or buying things I wouldn't normally buy because it's such a good deal.
There's a $1 trial for 4 weeks - and even my Canadians friends can punch in your postal code to see which stores are available in your area. After the 4 week trial, it's $10 for every 8 weeks. You get a list with all the sales items and where to find the coupons you could use. I've never clipped coupons before, but I'm getting a system going and I am enjoying it so far because we can spend a lot on groceries each month and to cut down on the cost in any way helps! It's also helped me to figure out meals and make a plan based on what is on sale. If you are interested in trying it out you can refer to me (cheri at mplx dot com) when it asks for the email of the person who referred you.
Anyway, the idea behind The Grocery Game is that it combines sales/club member prices at your local grocery store with manufacturers coupons that you get in the Sunday paper in order to get the best use of the coupon and the biggest amount of savings. It works best if you can spend a lot at first to stock up on everything. I haven't completely stock-piled everything, but for the first three weeks of using the grocery game I have saved a ton of money!
The first time I went grocery shopping I saved $33 on my $101 bill - So I only spent $68! Another bill came to $140 before all the sales and coupons, and I ended up saving about $65. Just yesterday when I went shopping I saved $88 on about $200, so I spent $114. I think I'll keep using it. I just don't want to get sucked in to using coupons or buying things I wouldn't normally buy because it's such a good deal.
There's a $1 trial for 4 weeks - and even my Canadians friends can punch in your postal code to see which stores are available in your area. After the 4 week trial, it's $10 for every 8 weeks. You get a list with all the sales items and where to find the coupons you could use. I've never clipped coupons before, but I'm getting a system going and I am enjoying it so far because we can spend a lot on groceries each month and to cut down on the cost in any way helps! It's also helped me to figure out meals and make a plan based on what is on sale. If you are interested in trying it out you can refer to me (cheri at mplx dot com) when it asks for the email of the person who referred you.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Ontario Visit
Here are some pictures of our fun visit to my parent's house in Ontario. We had a great time playing in the snow and hanging out with friends and family. Micah loved seeing Grandma and Grandpa. He ran right up to his Grandpa at the airport and gave him a big hug. He helped Grandma in the kitchen and with the laundry. He only wanted them to help with washing his hands - Dave felt a little put out since he was the last one Micah wanted. :)
Micah with his Great-Grandpa and Great-Granny
I know this will be fun for Micah for many years to come - sending laundry down the laundry chute.
Of course, helping in the kitchen means eating more than actually "helping"but he did pour and stir and wash veggies for Grandma.
We went on a weekend retreat when we were there with some close family friends. The guys had made an extra tall snowman, so the girls had to come up with something better. We couldn't make anything taller but we could definitely make something more fancy! So we made a Snow Sphinx.
It was a lot of fun with the snow piled higher than Micah. We made a clearing in the backyard so he could walk around a little since it was way too deep for him.
Micah with his Great-Grandpa and Great-Granny
I know this will be fun for Micah for many years to come - sending laundry down the laundry chute.
Of course, helping in the kitchen means eating more than actually "helping"but he did pour and stir and wash veggies for Grandma.
We went on a weekend retreat when we were there with some close family friends. The guys had made an extra tall snowman, so the girls had to come up with something better. We couldn't make anything taller but we could definitely make something more fancy! So we made a Snow Sphinx.
While we were working on our Sphinx, the guys made a pretty cool shark and stuck a poor unsuspecting child in the jaws!
It was a lot of fun with the snow piled higher than Micah. We made a clearing in the backyard so he could walk around a little since it was way too deep for him.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Sleeping like a baby
If he gets tired enough, he will fall asleep anywhere.
Within the last couple of weeks, Micah moved into a toddler bed, but he now understands he has some freedom to get up and move about. He knows enough not to come out of his room. There really aren't any toys except for a few books in his room for him to play with, but he will find something to do until he collapses. Nap time has been a bit of a challenge, trying to teach him to stay in bed and fall asleep, but sometimes it takes a good two hours for him to get tired enough to fall asleep. Sometimes I stress the issue of falling asleep and other times I just let him play quietly until he is REALLY quiet, at which time I go to check on him.
Here's what I find:
On the floor right behind his door, thankfully not close enough to be hit by the door opening.
Rocked himself to sleep.
Another episode of rocking himself to sleep, this time on the ottoman. I had been wondering if this would happen - he often lays like that, rocking back and forth but I didn't think he would actually fall asleep like that...
Wow, he actually made it to the bed (barely)!
Within the last couple of weeks, Micah moved into a toddler bed, but he now understands he has some freedom to get up and move about. He knows enough not to come out of his room. There really aren't any toys except for a few books in his room for him to play with, but he will find something to do until he collapses. Nap time has been a bit of a challenge, trying to teach him to stay in bed and fall asleep, but sometimes it takes a good two hours for him to get tired enough to fall asleep. Sometimes I stress the issue of falling asleep and other times I just let him play quietly until he is REALLY quiet, at which time I go to check on him.
Here's what I find:
On the floor right behind his door, thankfully not close enough to be hit by the door opening.
Rocked himself to sleep.
Another episode of rocking himself to sleep, this time on the ottoman. I had been wondering if this would happen - he often lays like that, rocking back and forth but I didn't think he would actually fall asleep like that...
Wow, he actually made it to the bed (barely)!Sunday, December 21, 2008
Winter Wonderland!
It has been snowing non-stop for over a week here! I anticipate it actually staying until Christmas, since we just measured and it's over 8 inches already and still coming down. Micah has been having lots of fun in it, and so have we! I have always missed a white Christmas since moving here from Canada. Western Washington completely shuts down when snow hits, but this time I can't make too much fun. It actually is a lot of snow and it's freezing rain. Even church was cancelled this morning! The roads are thick sheets of ice. The thing about western Washington is that we don't have the equipment to handle the snow since it is such a rare occurrence. There are very few snow plows. We haven't ventured out too much, except to play in the snow. We made a gingerbread house last night.
Christmas 2008
We have been having a very fun December. Micah has been a big helper. He helped put up the Christmas lights outside, helped with the Christmas tree inside, and helped bake lots and lots of cookies all month long. This is going to have to be some quick photo posts because I need to go to bed soon.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Belated Halloween post
I really should be going to bed right now and not about to type a new blog post, especially since I'm so far behind as it is. So maybe I'll just make it short and sweet, trying to catch up again on a few events. Halloween came and went, American Thanksgiving came and went and I haven't even posted any photos. I apologize to my family, especially, who probably wait on pins and needles for my page to load and get disappointed every time there is nothing to show for it.
Micah was a lion for Halloween. We had fun - he did his first trick or treating over at our neighbor's house and then we went to our church for the Harvest Party. He LOVED the giant slide and he had fun with the bean bag toss. He even won a mug for me!
We carved a pumpkin and scooped out the seeds and toasted them. We ate lots of Halloween candy. Well, David and I did more so than Micah (he didn't know what he was missing!). We are now fully into the Christmas season and we'll probably be going out next weekend to pick out our tree. Where did November go?
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Canadian Thanksgiving 2008
All the girls: Kimber with Reese, Erica with Coco, Stephanie with baby :), Jaclyn, Maleah with Hallee, and me
Maleah and Erica with their babies and their homemade hooter hiders
Stephanie and Maleah
Myself and Jaclyn cleaning up the mess!
Canadian Thanksgiving happened for us a couple weeks late. I always love to do it even though I stress a bit before it happens. I love having people over and hanging out, but there's always a certain amount of work that goes into having people over. Planning the menu, shopping for the food, cleaning the house and preparing the food. I made a Sausage-cranberry stuffing recipe that I had seen in Wondertime Magazine and it was FABULOUS! I made it the day ahead, and it made enough for 2 9x13 pans, plus enough to stuff the 20lb turkey we had! We had a lot of yummy leftovers! We made the turkey with a fried pecan-bourbon glaze, also fabulous! The gravy even turned out perfectly! I wasn't planning on making mashed potatoes because there's always so much food, but when I happened to mention it to Dave a couple hours before the feast he was not too happy to hear that there would be no mashed potatoes! I had to run out to the store to get potatoes and a few of the other ingredients I needed for it. The potatoes were awesome, it was good that we had them. But... I had felt pretty relaxed most of the day until I realized I had to go to the store and make potatoes! I guess I can't blame it all on Dave - we did need some other things at the store too. But my friends say I'm a good wife and should be rewarded with a new pair of jeans or something!!
I had felt relaxed because everyone else helped out so much with the menu. Even the women that had newborns brought something! Erica has a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 month old and she made twice baked sweet potatoes and a pumpkin pie from scratch, complete from sugar pie pumpkins! Maleah has three kids (3 and under) and made an absolutely delicious cranberry sauce! These women amaze me!
I am very thankful for my amazing friends and for delicious food!
Monday, October 27, 2008
October is flying by
I have a lot to catch up on. October has been a busy month and it doesn't seem to be slowing down at all. In early October, I was thrilled to be able go up to BC to visit a friend that I've had since kindergarten and share in the joy of her brand new baby. She had her baby a couple weeks early. I had been planning to go there for her baby shower, but what better way to have a baby shower than with the actual baby! It was great to be able to go there and visit with my friends. Another friend from high school was there visiting her too. The three of us had all swam and played soccer together in high school!
The one thing I was very frustrated about, though, was the fact that I had FINALLY finished getting all the stuff together for my passport application to be renewed. It's been looming over me for about 2 years. I got everything assembled and photos taken for the special Canadian specifications and then sent it through the mail. I was excited to answer and sign for the passport document that came to my front door a couple weeks later, just before my trip to BC, but when I opened it I was really mad. It had been damaged by water. Seriously!? How often does mail get water damaged? I don't often send things like photos or even letters by mail anymore, but when I did, they never seemed to get damaged. Of all things, my PASSPORT documents had to be damaged, making me get new photos taken, and having to get all my documents prepared again. The last time, about a year ago, I had sent my application and then it was returned to me too because I hadn't checked the box about living in another country before 1977, even though I wasn't born before 1977. Apparently everyone needs to check that box and now I know!
Over the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, my parents came for a visit. We celebrated Micah's birthday while they were here. We had one family over to celebrate with us, close family friends of ours that my parents have enjoyed getting to know whenever they come here for a visit. We had a very nice evening with them! The whole visit with my parents was great. Micah loved having Grandma and Grandpa here, especially with Grandpa keeping him entertained in the back seat of the car and being silly with the purple balloon.
Birthday cake!
A good night hug to Grandpa!
He loved Grandma's story time and playing with blocks and playdoh with her. I loved it, too!
Soon to come, I'll fill you in on our Canadian Thanksgiving celebration. We did it a couple weeks late because of everything going on during the actual holiday. I have a feeling we're going to be doing it like that for many years to come since Micah's birthday is so close to it.
The one thing I was very frustrated about, though, was the fact that I had FINALLY finished getting all the stuff together for my passport application to be renewed. It's been looming over me for about 2 years. I got everything assembled and photos taken for the special Canadian specifications and then sent it through the mail. I was excited to answer and sign for the passport document that came to my front door a couple weeks later, just before my trip to BC, but when I opened it I was really mad. It had been damaged by water. Seriously!? How often does mail get water damaged? I don't often send things like photos or even letters by mail anymore, but when I did, they never seemed to get damaged. Of all things, my PASSPORT documents had to be damaged, making me get new photos taken, and having to get all my documents prepared again. The last time, about a year ago, I had sent my application and then it was returned to me too because I hadn't checked the box about living in another country before 1977, even though I wasn't born before 1977. Apparently everyone needs to check that box and now I know!
Over the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday, my parents came for a visit. We celebrated Micah's birthday while they were here. We had one family over to celebrate with us, close family friends of ours that my parents have enjoyed getting to know whenever they come here for a visit. We had a very nice evening with them! The whole visit with my parents was great. Micah loved having Grandma and Grandpa here, especially with Grandpa keeping him entertained in the back seat of the car and being silly with the purple balloon.
Birthday cake!
A good night hug to Grandpa!
He loved Grandma's story time and playing with blocks and playdoh with her. I loved it, too!
We went out the pumpkin patch and got a couple pictures, but unfortunately there weren't too many pumpkins there.
Soon to come, I'll fill you in on our Canadian Thanksgiving celebration. We did it a couple weeks late because of everything going on during the actual holiday. I have a feeling we're going to be doing it like that for many years to come since Micah's birthday is so close to it.
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